There are currently a lot of emails claiming that you have received a greetings card or postcard from a family member, mate, school friend or whatever. It does not say the name of the sender and is not addressed to you by name. They contain a link to a website where you can view the card. When you get there you will be told that you need to install an updated version of Flash to view the card. However it is not Flash you'll be installing - it is a trojan which could steal personal details or take control of your PC. If you get one of these emails, just delete it along with all the other spam and junk. There also seems to be an increase in the phishing emails claiming to be from a bank or PayPal asking you to confirm your details. These do not link to the bank websites - so you will be giving your bank login details to criminals..... Be careful out there! If you are using Windows, make sure you have an anti-virus and anti-spyware program and that it is up to date with its definitions.
I never open those, I don't have a bank account and I use Linux so I am not that concerned by those problems... but I agree, everyone should be careful. Get a good anti-virus and firewall, and be careful in general.
Generally I think those who use Linux are likely to be aware of the risks and much less likely to open stuff like that. But the vast majority of people use Windows, and things like this are targeted at less aware and less careful Windows users - people who will install anything a website asks them to do without thinking or checking. Hopefully nobody here has got caught by these, but I know a couple of people who are normally very cautious that have been caught out.
